The Phantom and the Ballet Brat
by inkeepingsecrets
Summary: Little Meg Giry first encounters the Phantom of the Opera when she is a young girl. Their relationship grows as she does...ErikMeg, Christine doesn't exist. T for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: As I have only just begun to read Leroux's novel, much of this fic will probably be movie/play based. This is my first Phantom fic. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Property of Leroux, not me.

Chapter One

Mme Giry was a very busy woman, so it is no surprise that her five year old daughter, Meg, often got away from her during the chaos of rehearsals. Meg had been taking ballet lessons for half a year and was showing as much promise as a five year old can. One day she would be allowed to take part in the opera rehearsals and perhaps find her own limelight. But for the time being, Mme Giry found it best to keep Meg as far away from stage as possible. It wasn't her fault, she was an over enthusiastic girl who wanted to be a ballerina. She would often prance about into the chorus lines, messing up whatever scene was being rehearsed. So, her mother usually assigned one of the wardrobe mistresses to watch over Meg while she was busy.

Meg, being an adventurous and sometimes mischievous young girl was not easily watched over, and on this particular afternoon her guardian was quite distracted and Meg found it easy to slip away. Kate, a young wardrobe assistant, was in the middle of a rather heated meeting with a young man when Meg decided she would go exploring. Though she had lived in the opera house her whole life, she had not seen much of it because of the protectiveness of her mother. Meg, of course, had heard stories of the Opera Ghost, and guessed that this was why her mother would not let her go to many parts of the building...still, she was curious and, she liked to think, fearless. And so, Meg skipped away from Kate and her boy.

After navigating a labyrinth of corridors and checking out many dull looking rooms, Meg found one that seemed promising. The room was dark, and the hulking figures of furniture covered in dusty sheets seemed to haunt the room. This room had been vacant for sometime, but Meg thought it was the perfect place to play haunted house. Meg ran about the room peaking under the sheets only to squeal and run away in terror lest some monster be hidden underneath. As she ran past a tall, ornate mirror Meg felt a sudden draft upon her ankles. She froze in mid-run and turned slowly toward the mirror. Stepping forward prudently, Meg felt the draft again. She got down on her hands and knees and peered at the bottom edge of the mirror, there seemed to be something hidden behind there. She stood determinedly and placed her hands on the glass, after a few awkward attempts Meg managed to slide the mirror aside and reveal a dank, dark passage.

At this moment she had a choice. She could flee back to Kate and her lover boy, or she could be brave and enter into the tunnel. It didn't seem like much of a choice to Meg of course. She could not flee before the prospect of a great adventure! So, she stepped over the threshold and began her descent into the catacombs beneath the Opera Populaire. At first she felt swollen with bravado, but as she began to walk deeper into the tunnel, and further from the meager light behind her, that bravery ran away and Meg became frightened.

Once the opening through which she had come was out of sight Meg became truly panicked, and almost as if on cue she heard footsteps echoing from somewhere in front of her. She strained her eyes against the darkness to see anything, but it was useless. She didn't know what to do, they sounded too close for her to be able to run back to that dusty room, and yet there was no where else to go. At last they sounded as if they were just beyond a bend in the tunnel a few feet away. Meg was so scared that all she could do was press herself against the wall of the passage and shrink down into a ball on the floor in some meager attempt to fade into shadow. She could sense the footsteps turning around the corner and the attention of their owner falling onto her form. Still she would not look up and kept herself in a tight package. She began to sob when she heard the footfalls continue after their brief hesitance upon discovering her. They stopped right in front of her and she knew that if she looked up she would see the Opera Ghost standing before her. So, she continued to cry and buried her face deeper into her arms. When she felt the weight of a hand fall upon her shoulder it was too much for her and she fainted on the spot.

When she woke up she did not immediately remember what had happened and so at first there was only confusion in her mind. But as the memories flooded back she became fearful again, slowly she lifted her eyelids and peaked out at her surroundings. She was laying on a huge, soft bed and there were hundreds of candles all around. For some reason the lighting comforted her and she felt brave enough to sit up. She could hear from beyond the door of the room an organ being played. After sitting still on the bed for what seemed like an eternity, little Meg puffed herself up and walked toward the door. She turned the knob and opened the door slowly. She poked her head out of the door and looked around. What she saw was a huge, cavernous chamber filled with candles and ornate decoration. There were sheets of music and sketches blanketing parts of the floor. After a moment her eyes were drawn to a raised area where a man sat playing the organ. She gasped, that small sound reached the man's ears and he abruptly ceased his playing.

"Come out, Little Giry," the man spoke in a loud, yet unthreatening voice. Despite this Meg still shivered with fear. Slowly she entered the chamber, she took only a few steps toward him and then stopped. She could not see his face, as his back was turned to her. "Come here."

She made her way slowly up to him and as she came closer she saw that the right side of his face was covered in an alabaster mask. His hair was midnight black and the part of his face that was free of his mask seemed quite handsome. She stood a few feet to his right.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"Y-yes, I do," Meg's voice seemed small to her ears.

"Who am I, then?" the man asked with a very serious look on his face, this made Meg nervous.

"Well..."

"Yes?" he inquired expectantly.

Meg spoke softly and hesitantly,"You're the Phantom of the Opera...the Opera Ghost?"

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked observing her shaking form. Meg did not reply, but bit her lip."Do you want me to take you back?"

Meg nodded furiously.

"Well then...I must make sure that you will not tell anyone that you saw me. But you see...I'm troubled. Because I cannot think of how I can be sure that you will not tell."

Meg screwed her face up in contemplation for a moment,"Well...I can promise you."

"Oh, my little ballet rat, how can I be sure that you will keep your promise?"

"Well...I...I don't know..."

"There, you see? I shall have to keep you down here forever."

Meg did not seem to catch the hint of amusement in his voice for she broke out in desperation."No! Please don't keep me down here! I promise I won't tell. I won't!"

"Calm down, child. I think I've thought of a way to keep you from telling anyone."

"How?"

"Well you shall have to give me something of yours that you care about, and if you do not tell then you will get it back."

"But...but I don't have anything with me," Meg replied looking sullenly at her empty hands

"Oh, that matters not. I shall bring you back to your room and we will pick out something there."

With that they began their journey back up to the opera house. Somehow the Phantom managed to remain unseen as they crept through the hallways to Meg's room. During the journey Meg had considerably relaxed and when they reached her door she opened it and invited him inside politely. The phantom stalked about the room seriously.

"What shall you take?" Meg asked.

"Well I'm not quite sure yet," the Phantom replied. As he walked back and forth something caught his eye from Meg's bed. Tucked beneath a quilt was a small stuffed elephant. It looked worn but well taken care of. By its separation from the rest of Meg's toys the Phantom guessed that this one was special. He reached his hand out and plucked it from her bed.

"Oh no! Not Willy!"

The Phantom smiled slightly, "Oh yes, I'm afraid Willy is coming with me."

"Please M. Phantom you can take anything else, but not Willy!"

"Don't you see? Now I can ensure that you will hold your tongue, and if you do you can have Willy back. And my name is Erik."

Little Meg was becoming tearful,"B-but I can't sleep without him. How long will you keep him?"

"For as long as I need to. Until I can be sure that you will keep silent."

"But I won't tell anyone, I swear!"

"Oh, young Giry. I know you talk of me to your little ballet friends. I know that the temptation to tell them of my passage way would be too great for you. So, when you feel tempted to tell them, just remember Willy."

She sorrowfully nodded her head.

That night, as Meg attempted to fall asleep in the absence of her long time companion, Willy the elephant, she succumbed to the day's stress and cried. She cried out of loss, sadness, fear and confusion. Her cries went on for sometime before they began to subside, and just before she fell into slumber, Meg felt a hand caressing her head and a heard a voice soothing her to sleep.

End Note: Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Leroux's, not mine.

Chapter Two

It had been one week since Meg Giry's encounter with the Opera Ghost and the kidnaping of her precious stuffed animal, Willy. A week of sleepless nights and worrying about her elephant friend. Meg wasn't only worried for Willy though, she had also become obsessively paranoid that she might accidentally let something slip about her meeting with Erik. She became so scared of this possibility that soon whenever the Phantom was mentioned, which was often, Meg would simply leave the room. Now, at the end of the week Meg thought that she had done a good job of not telling anyone about Erik's passage way and she thought she deserved her toy back.

At midweek Meg had been desperate and had taken matters into her own hands by writing a letter to Erik and placing it inside the entrance to the tunnel she had discovered. However, she had received neither Willy nor a reply. At last, Meg decided that she would go back into the tunnel to rescue her friend. With Erik out of sight, her fear had chilled and she had once again grown brave. On Sunday night, after the lights of the opera house had been extinguished and everyone was in bed, Meg left her room to return to the passageway. She crept down the hallways slowly and silently, already with growing fear. As she came upon the room her heard began to pound against her chest. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. At night, the room was far more foreboding, and Meg felt almost relieved to leave it as she entered the tunnel. That is until she saw the inky blackness before her. With great care, she made her way down into the catacombs, feeling her way along the walls of the passage. As she walked deeper she came upon an area lit by torches affixed to the walls, she was grateful for the light, yet her fear increased as she realized she must be getting closer to Erik's lair. At length she came to an open area and stomped her foot at what she found.

An underground lake? After all that it came to this? How was she to get across? For a while Meg sat and pondered this. At last she realized that if the Opera Ghost could hear everything that goes on in his opera house, couldn't he hear little Meg Giry calling from him?

"Erik! ERIK! ERIK," Meg called over and over from the edge of the lake. After her lungs had been exhausted, she sat down again and waited for him to come. Somehow she knew he would.

She heard the swishing of water before she actually saw him. Slowly his figure began to compile itself from the shadows and Meg saw him pushing himself along on a boat. The old fear started to swell up again, but Meg tried hard to suppress it. As he came to the shore she realized that she didn't know quite what to say.

After a moment she simply blurted,"I want Willy back."

Erik stared down at her for a long time,"You know little girl I believe you've grown too comfortable with me. There are reasons why I am feared."

"I just want my Willy back. I didn't tell anybody about your passageway! I really didn't."

"I know you haven't, you've done well," he seemed to think about it for a moment,"if you come with me I will give you your elephant back."

Meg was doubtful at first, but it didn't seem to her like she had a choice. She took his hand and stepped nervously into the boat, she immediately sat down and gripped the sides with white knuckles.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall out," Erik said.

After a while they arrived on the other side of the lake and Erik helped her out of the boat gently. Meg looked around expectantly.

"Where is he?"

Erik walked slowly to his organ where Willy sat. He picked him up and gave him back to Meg.

"Thank you,"she said quietly as she hugged her favorite toy.

"You know...it's quite late. I'm not sure I approve of you wandering about this late at night. I may have to inform Mme Giry."

"WHAT? No! You musn't do that!"

"And why not?"

"Because I will be in so much trouble! Oh don't! You can't!"

"Come, Giry, I think it's time for you to go back to bed."

The next morning Mme Giry received a letter from the Opera Ghost.

_Mme Giry-_

_Of late your little daughter has been wandering much too far into dangerous places. I would_

_ask that you please restrict her from doing so as it is trying for me and unsafe for her._

_-O.G._

That night little Meg's bottom was still sore. Her mother was quite disturbed that her daughter had come so close to the Phantom of the Opera. Meg decided as she sat up in bed holding Willy close to her, that she was mad at Erik. She decided to write her own letter.

_Dear Erik:_

_You are not nise. I do not like you becus you made my mom hit me. You are_

_stoopid. I am gona tell evryone that you stink!_

_Meg Giry_

The next morning Meg slipped the letter into the tunnel and walked away determined never to go in again. As she walked back to breakfast her mother spotted her and rushed forward.

"Meg Giry, where have you been?"

"I was washing my face..."

"If you step one foot out of sight from now on you'll wish you hadn't. I'm still very disappointed in you."

Meg cast her eyes downward,"I'm sorry."

"Go eat your breakfast."

That morning's ballet class was particularly hard for Meg with her sore bottom.

Meanwhile Erik stood at the entrance to his passage way reading Meg's note by the light of a torch he carried with him. He couldn't help but smile at fact that she addressed him as "Dear Erik" even though she was supposedly angry with him. However as he read her words he felt anger swirl up in his stomach at the thought that Mme Giry had used force against her daughter. His respect for the woman kept him from issuing any further complaint to her, but he did decide that he would make it up to Meg.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Wow, I was truly amazed by the amount of reviews I received overnight for this fic! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, the response was heartening and has influenced me to write another chapter. I can't say I was as amazed at the number of typos that all of you found and that I found on my own. I'm kind of a reckless typist. Needless to say I did replace the last two chapters with revised versions, they're probably not perfect but they're better. I'm especially ashamed of my use of "to" instead of "too." Sigh...oh well...I hope you enjoy this new chapter, I'm feeling a little pressure, haha.

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Leroux. This is not meant to make money. Etc.

Chapter Three

Little Meg was "marching straight to her room" as she had been instructed by her mother to do immediately following lunchtime. This was a part of her punishment, she supposed. On the inside she was shaking her fist at Erik, outwardly she was pouting. As she walked into her room something caught her attention right away. It was a bright purple stuffed bunny sitting atop her pillow with a note attached to it. The note read:

_Little Giry-  
He is for you. Forgive me, but you cannot keep  
visiting me like you have been. You must do what  
your mother tells you to, she really does know  
what's best for you.  
-Erik, O.G._

Meg placed the note reverently on her night stand and glanced at the rabbit.

"Hmm...what shall I name you, Monsieur Rabbit?" Meg asked aloud. She picked up the stuffed animal and hugged it tightly."Erik."

As the initial happiness at receiving a gift wore off, Meg felt melancholy sink into her. It was strange that even though she'd known Erik for a short time and he had been mostly either mean or confusing to her, she was going to miss him. She sighed and decided to introduce Little Erik to the rest of her stuffed animals.

After that Meg didn't see Erik. Not that she didn't know he still thought of her. Every once in a while Meg would come into her room at night and find some chocolates left for her beside her bed. And once when she'd awoken from a nightmare and had been crying she felt his presence in the room. What might have been frightening to most felt comforting to Meg that night.

As it goes with small children, Meg soon moved on from her sadness in missing Erik. Years went by and though she still thought of him as somewhat of a friend because of his occasional gifts, Meg began to once more thrill at the chance to tell a story of the mysterious and deadly Opera Ghost. She was tempted back into the habit by the lure of horrifying her audience of little ballerina girls. One night, however, she went too far.

It was after a big opera production and 8 year old Giry and her friends were not allowed to attend the after show party, so they were all gathered together in Meg's room sharing horror stories. As one girl finished her tale of the Phantom of the Opera with a flaming death head atop his shoulders Meg felt the urge to tell her own story.

"Oh, Diana, I think you are taking the legend too seriously. I know for a fact that the Opera Ghost does not have a death head. I have seen him!" Meg spoke rashly.

At once the flock of girls erupted in gasps and urges for Meg to tell her story.

"Quiet down now...," she spoke to call their attention,"I will tell you what happened."

Meg took on her most theatrical of voices,"I was wandering the halls of the Opera House when I came across the queerest room. It was dark and dank, dust filled the air and all the furniture was covered in sheets. The forms the sheets took on looked like ghosts. It was in this room that I found the--"

Suddenly Meg realized what she had been about to reveal. The girls begged her to continue, but she merely sat speechless and panicked, wondering what to do.

"It was a trap door wasn't it?" one girl asked.

"No, no it was a passageway!" another insisted.

Meg was lost in the whirl of enthusiasm and still didn't know what she should do. At last she refused to finish her story.

"No, I cannot go on," she insisted to her tortured audience,"I have been sworn to secrecy by the Phantom himself. If I were to go on with my story I would be endangering both your lives and mine."

"Oh at least tell us what his face really looks like, Meg!" one girl implored.

Meg glanced at her audience dramatically,"Very well...It is perfectly handsome on one side. The other is covered by a snow white mask. I suspect that beneath the mask lies his monstrous side. That side of his face must be very ugly."

The girls did not seem very satisfied with this description, and so the group slowly began to disperse a few girls at a time until Meg was left alone in her room. That's when she heard the noise.

Soft and distant it sounded at first but it's pitch and intensity grew louder and fiercer with each passing second. The sound was of a giant's footsteps echoing through the hallway and they seemed to be getting closer to Meg's room. Terrified, Meg leapt beneath her blankets and pulled them up to her chin. She stared at her door as the footsteps grew louder and seemed to shake her walls. At last they reached Meg's door and stopped. For a moment there was no sound and during this moment Meg's horror only grew. At last a voice sounded from all around Meg.

"I told you to keep silent, young Giry," the voice was thunderous and harsh."I do not like being spoken of. I told you to keep silent!"

For several minutes Meg was silent and the voice said nothing, but she could still sense it all around her. Finally she spoke in a meek whisper,"I-I'm sorry, Erik! I d-didn't mean to...it just happened..."

For a few seconds the voice hesitated and the feeling in the air told Meg that he was about to speak, but then there was nothing and Meg knew that he had gone.

A/N: Please Review!


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